Blog de relatos cortos y paranoias varias.

Blog de relatos cortos y ensayos

sábado, 21 de abril de 2012

The Monroe Doctrine (1823) A portion of President James Monroe's seventh annual message to Congress, December 2, 1823

The Monroe Doctrine originally
was a portion of President James Monroe´s seventh annual message to Congress on
December 2nd, 1823. Subsequently, this document was considered an
essential part of the US foreign policy in the 19th and part of 20th
century.Fundamentally
the paper contains the idea of no interference in American affairs by European
states “…that the American continents, by
the free and independent condition which they have assumed and maintain, are
henceforth not to be considered as subjects for future colonization by any
European powers…”. This message steered relevant parts of the U.S. policy, such
as politics, economic and cultural, under the principle of isolationof the American continent regarding Europe.

In order to understand the
motivations that inspire the Monroe Doctrine, an analysis of the European
historical context is required. In this period, after the Napoleonic Wars,
European powers, except United Kingdom, were likely to promote a political and
social involution to restore the Ancient
Regime; The Holly Alliance, a
coalition formed by Russia, Austria and Prussia, was created in 1815 with this
purpose. One of its main initiatives was to help Spain in the recovery of its
American colonies, which seriously damaged English commerce. Indeed, President
Monroe made a specific reference to the military occupation of Spain by the
Hundred Thousand Sons of Saint Louis: “The
late events in Spain and Portugal show that Europe is still unsettle.” This
occupation finally ended up with the Trienio
Liberal and gave back absolute power to Ferdinand VII. At the same time, Russia was increasing
his commercial activity in Alaska and Oregon what was viewed with quite a lot
of concern by US.

England, in
order to increase itsinfluence in the American continent, offered to issue
a joint declaration with the US againstEuropean intervention inAmerica. However, the US rejected the English offer because they didn´t
want to accept an agreement clausewhere both countries agreed not to acquire
further territories in the American country, because theUS had some clear
expansionism aims. Having dismissed the agreement with England, President Monroe
presented, in his annual speech, the main principle that guided the foreign
policy of the US. America to the
Americans was the maxim that sum-up the axis of the Doctrine.

Until then, the
US had avoided being involved in European conflicts “In the wars of the European powers in matters relating to themselves
we have never taken any part…”, but thereafter US warned that even they would
be willing to go to war if European countries interfered in the continent “It is only when our rights are invaded or
seriously menaced that we resent injuries or make preparation for our defense.”

But overall, the main purpose
enclosed in the Monroe Doctrine was the pretension to enlarge its influence
over the continent, either directly, by annexing territories, or indirectly, by
expanding his commerce. However, Monroe's statement was frequently ignored as a
policy guide for much of the nineteenth century, because theUS was
mainly involved in domestic affairs, like Civil War, and his itsmilitary
power wasn´t enough to playa main role in international matters. It was not
until the end of that century, when theUS consolidated itsstatus of great world power,
when the Monroe Doctrine became the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy.

The Texas annexation in 1845
was the first direct application of the Monroe doctrine. President Polk
reinterpreted the Monroe Doctrine in terms of the prevailing spirit of the Manifest
Destiny. This belief consisted in the idea that US was destined to expand
across the continent, which served to justify the war with Mexico. Initially,
Monroe intended that America was no longer a European colony; instead Polk
stated that European powers must not interfere in the US´s territorial expansion.
As anexample
of this new interpretation, it can be highlighted that the US position was
completely different in the case of theAnglo-French blockade of the Río de la Plata
and other interventions such as the occupation of the Falklands by UK (1833) or
French invasion of Veracruz (1838). The US president considered differently
those interventions that affected directly the vital interests of US from the
others that were far from its territory, even when the American countries
requested assistance from the US.

The outbreak of the American
Civil War prevented the imposition of the Monroe doctrine therefore, no
opposition came from US when French forces invaded and conquered Mexico in
1862, except a complaint of the violation of The Doctrine. A remarkable feature of this complaint was that for the
first time, Monroe Doctrine was widely referred to as a Doctrine. When the
civil war finally finished, U.S. sent troops to the Mexican border in order to
put pressure on the French colonialist government, which was eventually
defeated by the Mexican troops.

After the
Civil War, the years of industrial growth
started in United States and, thus the sphere of influence also grew to include
theCaribean
and Central America. In 1889, Rutherford Hayes set down a policy
that a canal in Central America could only be under American control so this
thesis laid the foundation for the takeover of the Panama
Canal. In this period the capitalist theories led the entrepreneurs and the companies
extendedbeyond
the US borders and finally became an imperialist policy. The European menace had
been left behind in the same way initial principles that guided the Monroe´s
doctrine.

Another remarkable event was
the Spanish-American War in 1898, once more the Monroe Doctrine was argued for the
forceful removal ofthe Spanish from Cuba. After the war, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the
Philippines, Guam, and Cuba to the United States.

In 1904, Theodore Roosevelt
stated whatis
known as The Roosevelt Corollary in an amendment to the Monroe Doctrine.
Basically, the corollary asserted that “the
United States has the right, under the doctrine, to go in in order to exercise
police power to keep the Europeans out”. Indeed The Roosevelt Corollary
meant US had a carte blancheto intervenewherever
they want in the Caribbean, Central America and South America.

From 1920s to
post-world war II, the Monroe´s Doctrine was imposed with moderation and with a
pan-Americanism view, but due to the fear of Communism that spread in the
1950s, US initiated unilateral actionsagainst countries in which socialist ideas had
become popular such as Guatemala (1954), Cuba (Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961),
Dominican Republic (1965), Chile (Salvador Allende´s overthrown in 1973)
Nicaragua (1980) and Granada (1983). During these interventions, US used to
support military governments that frequently committed violation of human
rights.

In conclusion,
theMonroe´s
doctrine enshrinedthe isolationism concept that has been so prevalent in the US
policy from his creation. During the last two centuries, Doctrine´s Monroe has
been interpreted and, has also guided the US´s foreign policy in different ways:
firstly, to protect the recent American nations against of the conservative Santa Alliance, after that to justify
US´s territorial expansion in the early XX century to protect his economic
interest in the continent and finally, during the cold war, to prevent the
expansion of Socialist ideas in the American continent. This policy has
generated great discomfort and anti-American sentiments across the continent
that can be widely felt nowadays.